Speaker suggestions under 4k


Well here it is. I sold my Tekton Double Impacts and my Lyngdorf 2170 a while back. I thought it sounded very good! I was getting out of audio and wasn't listening much anymore. Well..... now winter is here, I'm bored and have the itch to get something descent again. 
I like rock/metal/bluegrass/ acoustic/ some country. I need impact and good midbass and low fatigue. I have a Crown DCI 4/300 and a upgraded Jolida Fusion preamp at the moment. Plenty of power for almost anything. 

My biggest pet peeve is cabinets that start talking at high levels or when the sound hardens at high levels. 

Willing to drive up to 300miles 1 way for the right deal and I am in West Mi. A little older does not bother me at all. I've just started looking and a few I've been eying are:
Aerial LR5 or Model 9
Dali MS4
LSA 20 statements (new)
KEF 205/2
Dynaudio Focus 360

Any others anyone feels I should keep an eye out for in this price range? 

Thanks
mofojo

Showing 34 responses by mofojo

Thanks for the encouraging words  arichison. They seem like a lot of speaker for the money. I now am going to be looking for a used dac hopefully under 1k. I would welcome any suggestions there. Oh and get some kind of gliders, maybe herbies since the dam things weigh 145lbs. 
Thanks for the invite! I live in Grand Haven mi (West) so quite the haul. 
What are you pushing your References with? When I had T1s I liked SS with tube pre the best. 
I have no problem with used so it would need to be a really great deal new for me to consider. 
I have looked at open baffle a little. Not having punchy bass concerns me. I could be off base with that. 
Correct I bought speakers a while ago which I have stated. Also have had Triton ones in the past. Pretty good speaker. 
Still would like reccomendations for great amp for my Pioneer S-1ex. 
Hmm. Yeah those JBL look pretty good. You like the Tritons better overall? I've owned those as well in the past.
New Tektons are in the mix as well. I think I know enough about them so I didn't ask about those. Probably Moabs would be the choice if I go that route, although I worry about the loss of midbass impact since they don't have those drivers. 
I would rather keep the amp and pre. The DCI amps are better than the XLS Crowns. Very clean and powerful. I've had other class d amps in the past and the Crown is better than the highly touted Lyngdorf IMO... that is until you turn on room correction. Even then it has major authority advantage. JBL actually reccomends the DCI series for their high priced Synthesis line. 

Some good suggestions. I'm looking into them. 
I do have a subs as well. Paradigm servo 15 and a JL F113. JL is out of commission for the moment. Need to pull the amp and send to JL for repair. Loud buzz. 
I will back up on the Tekton subject. Loud volumes I thought they hardened up some. Lost coherence. Pretty damn loud mind you. I thought this was my room and very well could have been. I've other speakers in there since and I don't really get that sensation. 

Something like the Pioneer S1 reccomended earlier would have a much more heroic cabinet so may keep in check at higher levels better. If those were closer I would probably give them a go. 
I definitely don't have space for the Maggie's I dont think. Room is approx 13x16. 

I've heard them once, not sure the model and I don't think they have what I'm looking for in my type of music. They did spund really nice though. 
Thanks,

I've thought about checking out Salk for years. I should plan a trip over there and try and work it into a work trip soon. 
Thank all. 

Well I'm about to hit the PayPal send button for a pair of Pioneer S-1EX. Thanks for pointing those out howaboutthat41!  I like what I read in the reviews and they seem to have a very high build quality. We shall see in a week or so. 
Slept on it for the night and hit the send button this morning on the S1s. Worked out a descent deal for both of us I believe. If my electronics do not do them justice I will certainly look to upgrade slowly. I do think the Crown DCI would surprise a lot of folks though.

Probably a stupid question....... Will a speaker that has dual binding posts for bi-wire also work for bi-amping?  
@rushfan I had the DIs for a couple years and liked them very much. I wouldn't say I gave up on them and the Moabs were in the running on this purchase. 
@audio-b-dog 
I had Goldenear Triton Ones before the DIs. Liked them  a lot, liked the DIs more. I would love to hear the Reference. 
@gkr70067I find the DCI Crowns very clean and powerful. Also from all accounts the Pioneers like high power so I will bi amp for a total of 600w channel. If it does not sound great I will look at replacing. I may try and borrow a more upscale amp to try out for a shootout. 
Won't arrive till the 15th!! Damn.. hate waiting. 
Thanks I'll look into the MHDT. Another name I keep seeing pop up is RME. Seems like everyone is starting to go R2R. 
Thanks. I've bought some Pioneer S-1ex speakers I will be patiently waiting on for the next few weeks. You must have misread, classical music is not something im interested in. 
Thanks, pretty excited to get them. I'm hoping they are not too polite. From all accounts I've read they are pretty damn nice and I keep reading close to the Tads. Although I wouldn't know. Lol
Ahh small world. I demoed the P17b speakers at Misfitz months ago! Lol. Bought a pair of Klipsch Chorus 2s from them as well several years ago. Cool little shop. 

My Pioneers are coming the 16th. 
Maybe with their much super engineering and drivers they will. Honestly dude there is something f ing wrong with you. 
The speakers were delivered yesterday along with my new RME ADI-2 DAC. First impressions are very favorable. Very neutral and organic. Stayed up way too late last night listening. I am paying for that somewhat today. Thinking I'm gonna be slacking at work today as my office is in the same room. 
The finish if veneer but glossy. What would be the best way to clean it? 
I have lived with the Pioneers for 5-6 days and could not be more pleased. They are fantastic and I feel a huge bang for the buck for what I paid for them. They do excite my room more than I had anticipated. I got some bass traps set up correctly a few days ago and that basically knocked out the problem completely. Ceiling and wall treatment is next. 

@howaboutthat41,
Thanks again for the heads up!

Ohh I have a meeting call setup with GIK this week to discuss treatments as well. 
Room is 13x19. Half the room where I sit I have 7ft ceilings,the other other half is 9 ft with open rafters. Bass traps in al corners 4in thick. Couple owens 703 panels on the walls at reflections points. 1 2.5inthick 703 hanging from the ceiling between the speakers. Ohh and some 2 in 703s on the drywall from the drop down transition from rafters to drywall. 

There is a Odyssey Stratos Extreme for sale locally I've been eyeballing but I think he wants too much and is not negotiable. I am however considering other amps than the crown. I'm not convinced it is the problem however, I will keep it and compare when I buy a nice AB amp. 

The Pioneers do not have the resonance the Tektons had at high volumes. I have been playing with positioning for best results as well. 
Any suggestions for an amp under 2k used for the Pioneers? I want high current, high damping factor I think. Something on the warm side of neutral but fast. Source will likely be the RME ADI 2 direct to the amp. 
Thanks, I have been eyeing Parasound A21. Seems to get great reviews, plenty of power and has variable gain so I can get it just right to run DAC direct. I will look into these others you mentioned as well. 
Also still looking at Odyssey Stratos Extreme but even though I love their sound the 2 I have had were a little noisy so that scares me away a bit. 
Bought a descent class ab amp today to compare with the Crown dci. Its an Aragon 2002 in great shape. Price too good to pass up to at least try it out. According to the owner it has upgraded input caps and is biased to factory specs. Wanted to see if some descent AB sounds better than the Crown before I spend 2kish on something like the Parasound Halo. Just warming up so we shall see. So far the Crown is definitely more detailed and powerful sounding but I'll give it a bit. 
Ok Aragon is better than the Crown after warmed up although the Crown may do some things better. A little more detailed I would say. Highs are better on the Aragon and flow is better. Bouncy little amp. Surprisingly good bass slam. I feel more relaxed listening to the Aragon for sure. So yeah you guys were right.... get rid of the Crown. I will end with I dont think its a bad amplifer and it is for sure better than the cheaper XLS Crowns.  
Anyone in West to Central MI thinking of selling a Parasound A21 or similar hit me up as I may be interested.  
Local Usher R1.5 is available on local Facebook marketplace. Any comments on this one. 
Looks like I am picking up a single owner 2 year old black Parasound A21 tomorrow! The stars aligned and I got asked to go to a supplier across state close to where the amp is located the same day I saw the listing. 
Ok the hardness at very high volumes was not a incoming power issue, speaker issue, or room issue. It was an amplifier power and probably voicing issue. I can can play to any volume level and it sounds superb to my ears with no hardness whatsoever. Really exceeded my expectations to be honest. This combo is the best sound I've had in my room no doubt.